Refuge

This is the time of year for weather emergencies! We are warned to have a plan, which includes a strong safe place. David wrote, "Keep and protect me, O God, for in You I have placed my trust and found refuge." (Psalm 16:1 AMP). David's prays for help in the present tense indicating a here-and-now need but the latter part of his prayer refers to a previous time when God provided for him. Isn't that how it typically works? At some point we place our trust in something; it performs well ... or not. That experience results in a trust in that which we proved trustworthy. Throughout David's life, he turned to God as his refuge - in times of fear, anxiety, failure - over and over David sought God as his refuge, his strong and safe place. Why did he keep returning to The Lord? Because Jehovah never once failed him! God's performance was perfect and unfailing. Perhaps you're in a place right now where you have put too much faith and trust in people, and they have failed to live up to your expectations. These experiences can be frustrating and discouraging. "I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He Who keeps you will not slumber." (Psalm 121:1-3 AMP). Trust wisely: it is The Lord alone Who is strong and safe ... find your refuge in Him.

Sacrifice of Self

Bedtime is sweet after a long, hard day - comfy clothes, soft pillow, feet-off-the-floor. Those first moments of lying horizontal are welcomed and ... yes, sweet. Hebrews 13:16 says, "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." Doing good never saved a soul - never will; but, our good works are a result of our acknowledging what Jesus has already done for us. "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." One thing I've discovered is that the hindrance to my doing good is ... me. I'd much rather do good to-and-for myself, which conflicts with what the sacrifice God calls me to. In her book, The Quiet Place, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth writes, "God asks us to offer up our lives and daily circumstances as a living sacrifice, signifying our wholehearted consecration and surrender to the One Who gave His life for us." This happens only when we are willing to set aside ourselves throughout the course of a day. Mister Bill and I have a habit of lying down mid-day; that brief time of feet-off-the-floor rejuvenates and inspires us for the hours yet to come. The sacrifice God calls for is that relinquishing of self and its agenda to "share" with others what God has given and done us. When we have put the sacrifice-of-self on the altar unto God, we become useful to Him. "By the mercies of God ... present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Romans 12:1 ESV). Don't just lay yourself down at the end of the day - make a habit of laying-you-down over and over throughout the day. Practice ... sacrifice of self.

A Different Spirit

Each one of my boys are different. As infants, it was fun watching their personalities emerge. Now, it's just as fun watching their children - my grandchildren - and each one's uniqueness. I love what Scripture says about this man: "But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it." (Numbers 14:24 NASB). Caleb was different from others - something set him apart. That word different implies no hesitation nor delay nor hindrance. We know from earlier verses that Caleb (and Joshua), two of the twelve spies to Canaan, stood firm before the people that they should trust The Lord as they faced strong fortified cities and giants in the land. By Caleb's courageous testimony declared his complete trust in God fulfilling His promise to His people. He was different, unique and his bravery mattered to The Lord. Oh, how we need more Believers who are of a "different spirit" - a boldness about them! Those who choose righteousness over sin, who willingly speak truth in the presence of lies, who practice obedience in midst of rebellion, who faithfully do what is right in the sight of The Lord. Unlike his generation, Caleb (and Joshua) tasted the sweetness of the Promised Land, as did his descendants! The choices we make today influence tomorrow, they matter; and, there's nothing wrong with being different than the world. Actually, the blessed of God will be of ... a different spirit.

Less of Me

Before long Mister Bill will be packing our car and we'll be heading to the beach for vacation with the kids and grand kids. I've learned it's best for me to stay out of his way and let him do the packing because the things he packs ... well, I would leave at home. Before he's done, there's no rhyme or reason, no neat and tidy order. The car resembles the Clampetts [of Beverly Hillbillies fame]! John the Baptist was the promised forerunner of The Messiah, the one who would preach repentance and boldly testify, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29 ESV). Later John would make speak these profound words of The Savior: "He must increase but I must decrease" (John 3:30 ESV). Unlike us so often, John had a proper perception of who he was in relation to Jesus; at one point John made it plain by saying, "I am not the Christ" (John 1:20 AMP). I suggest many Believers today say with their lips "I love Jesus" yet they reign and rule their own lives with a mighty hand. Much like our car, when packed and ready to go, has little room left for one more thing - so we are so full of ourselves, we leave no room for The Savior to rule and reign in us. There must be a decrease of one thing for there to be an increase of another. John is a model for us - a right self-perception of who we are and who we are not! More of Jesus ... less of me!

Trust Him!

Next to my Pop and Granny's was an abandoned house, and I remember the big-bold sign warning people to stay away.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:25, "I tell you, stop being worried or anxious about your life." We say, "it's only natural" to to be ever uneasy about life.  Of course, it is!  The Child of God, however, has been given a new nature - one which does not practice infidelity (unfaithfulness) to obeying The Holy Spirit Who lives within.  Most commonly, it's the little things of life that distract us and draw us away from fully trusting God. "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor gather and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth more than they?" (V.26). Jesus' message is simple and clear: trust Me!  Prayerfully and humbly consider what cares trouble you then abandon them, giving them to God Almighty (El Shaddai) the One (and only One) Who is completely able and trustworthy. Trust Him!​